


Visions of Sugarplums

by LeChatRouge673



Series: Thea's Song [5]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: holiday fluff, satinalia 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2017-12-12
Packaged: 2019-02-13 17:55:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12989403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeChatRouge673/pseuds/LeChatRouge673





	Visions of Sugarplums

Cataline had just pulled the last pan of gingerbread cookies out of the oven when her husband and her cousin tumbled in from out of the snow, laughing and brushing snow off in the mudroom. After he had divested himself of coat and boots and gloves, Nathaniel wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to her lips.

“Maker’s breath, you are _freezing_ ,” Cat protested, but she made no move to leave his arms.

“See?” Thea taunted her best friend, “Had you been wearing proper layers like _I_ was, you would not be giving my darling cousin hypothermia by proxy.”

“Yes, because you are in so much better shape,” Loghain raised an eyebrow at his wife before taking her hands in his and blowing on them gently. “I’ll get some coffee going.”

“Maybe cocoa?” Cat suggested. “Seems more festive. More thematically appropriate to the activity, anyways.”

“Sure,” he agreed with a small smile. It was still a little odd, seeing Loghain Mac Tir smile, even now. This was his and Thea’s second Satinalia together, and their first as husband and wife, and they were both happier than Cat had ever seen them. In turn, it made _her_ happy to know that her cousin had found the same kind of joy that she and Nathaniel had. She was shaken from her musings by the woman in question, who was breathing in the scent of the cooling cookies.

“Mmmmm… you know, Catkin,” Thea glanced at her with a playful spark in her eyes, “One of these days I am going to trick you or Aunt Eleanor into giving me the recipe for these.”

“I’ve left it to you in my will,” Cat replied with a sweet smile. She and Thea both knew that the only reason she wasn’t given the recipe was because the woman already pushed herself to exhaustion during the holiday season. This was one task that Cat held the keys to, and if Thea wanted to continue the tradition she would just have to accept her help.

“You’re the worst,” Thea retorted cheerfully before dropping a kiss on her cheek. “I’m going to go upstairs and comb out my hair since I probably look like a holly jolly horror right about now, and put on some dry clothes.”

Cat carefully stacked the last sheets of building materials on the table before reaching over and taking Nathaniel’s hand in hers, pulling him into a kiss. “Thank you, love,” she murmured against his cheek. “She needed that time outside more than she will ever admit.”

“I know,” he smiled, running his thumb along her cheekbone. “And we didn’t break a single bone between us.”

“It’s a Satinalia miracle,” Loghain raised an eyebrow as he passed them mugs of cocoa. “Cataline, did you already grab the marshmallows out of the pantry?”

“Oh! Yes, sorry,” she reached across the table and grabbed a bowl. “I like to use them to make snowmen,” she explained.

“Ah. Of course,” he chuckled quietly, wrapping an arm around Thea as she came back into the kitchen. She seemed better. Still tired; you could not erase a bad night’s sleep with an afternoon of sledding or a hot shower, but better. She and Loghain sat across the table from Cat and Nathaniel and began construction.

“Speaking of Eleanor, do you know when she and Uncle Bryce are coming back from Antiva?” Thea asked as began neatly laying out her building materials and popped a gummy bear in her mouth.

Cat shrugged, passing a bowl of icing to Nathaniel and accepting the kiss he dropped on her cheek. “No idea. Apparently, that is the beauty of being retired,” she laughed. “Although she did mention she was going to text you about visiting you in Gwaren the next time your schedules sync up.”

“Making sure I haven’t run it into the ground?” Thea grinned.

“Probably to make sure you haven’t run _him_ into the ground,” Cat replied with an arched brow, gesturing to Loghain, who was intently pasting together two wall pieces. He looked up from his work with a flat look.

“Oh give me some credit, Cat.”

Cat giggled, but Thea just looked to her husband with a small smile. “I’ve never complained, now have I, love?”

Nathaniel gave a snort of laughter and Loghain just shook his head, but Cat could see he was biting back a smile of his own. “You are the worst, Theadosia.”

“Funny, Cat always says the same thing about me,” Nathaniel remarked. “I must have been a bad influence when we were kids. Or, and this is the more likely, _she_ was a terrible influence on me.”

“Ass!” Thea threw a marshmallow at her best friend, and Cataline caught it as it bounced off his head.

“Would you stop sacrificing my marshmallows!”

Both of them responded by tossing one in her direction, but her reflexes were better than they gave her credit for, and Cat caught them both neatly before skewering them with a toothpick and neatly piping a black icing face onto her newly minted snowman. “This, darlings, is why mom worries.”

“Wait, so _I_ am actually the reasonable one in this scenario?” Loghain looked at her skeptically.

“Afraid so,” Cat laughed. “We’re the respectable ones who have to keep these two in line.”

“Oh you’re fucked,” Nathaniel grinned at the other man who just laughed in response.

They were an odd little family, Cataline reflected to herself as they continued work on their own little gingerbread constructions, but she would not trade what they had for the world. When they had all finished, they lined their creations up on the counter, then stood back to examine their handiwork. Thea’s was the most elaborate: she had taken some architecture classes in grad school, “for fun,” she’d insisted, and it showed in the delicate and graceful cookie design. Loghain’s was simple, but neat and sturdy. Nathaniel’s was put together with exacting precision and minimal decoration and looked particularly sparse when set beside Cat’s. For her part, there were no half measures when it came to gingerbread houses, and Cat’s creation was an explosion of color and sugar and might possibly give them all diabetes simply by looking at it.

“Don’t tell anyone else,” Nathaniel stage whispered against her cheek as he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, “But yours is my favorite.” She turned her head to beam brightly up at him, leaning up to meet his lips with her own as he kissed her.

“Oh you two are just _impossible_ ,” Thea rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

“Yes,” Cat retorted, “Let’s talk about who couldn’t help brushing their hands against each other every single time they had to reach a different bowl or piping bag, shall we?”

“Damn,” Loghain gave a mock sigh, “Sweetheart, I’m afraid they’ve discovered that we actually _like_ each other.”

“Ah, well, I suppose we weren’t going to be able to keep up the charade forever,” his wife laughed, arching onto her toes to brush a kiss against his cheek. “It’s their own fault, really,” she looked at Cat with a sparkle in her eyes, “They’re a terrible influence.”

“Alright, we’re terrible influences all around,” Cat conceded. “Now, are we taking two cars to the Satinalia sing-along at The Hanged Man tonight, or are we carpooling?”

“I told you she wouldn’t forget,” Loghain pointed out to Thea.

“Catkin, are you absolutely _certain_ you want to go?” Thea asked skeptically. “I could just drink here and start singing, you’d get the same effect but without the possibility of me falling off a stage.”

“That only happened one year, and besides, you know one of us will catch you. Probably.”

Thea threw her head back with a long groan, but Cat knew it was a token protest. Despite her complaints, Thea loved the annual Satinalia event at the bar, and she wouldn’t miss it for anything, but there were niceties to be observed. She looked up at Loghain, who just shrugged. “You already know you aren’t going to tell her no, Theadosia.”

“See,” Thea gave Cat a half smile. “Terrible influences. All of you.”

 

 


End file.
